Coldplay concert in Mumbai: When it was all yellow...

British band Coldplay and frontman Chris Martin dug into their archives to bring a mixed tape for its Saturday night date with Mumbai

Demi Lovato. Pics/Satej Shinde

Coldplay in early 2000 meant pure melodies with piano and edgy guitar, but the band has evolved with time. The much awaited act of the year — playing the magnanimous gig at the Global Citizen Festival — pleased both their old friends as well as the new, EDM ones.

The band started off with its signature tracks Yellow and Paradise. But Chris surprised all with God Put A Smile, one of the older tracks of the band. He may not have the same falsetto as he did in his early years but the song revived memories of the CD era.

Loy Mendonsa and Prateik Babbar at the fest

However, people quickly transformed their vocal energy to their foot for the electronic version of Paradise. But the crowd favourite remained The Scientist and Fix You.

With four LCDs on stage, the organisers ensured people at the back remained close to the band. The visuals had a montage-like editing, keeping up to the time signature of every song.

Sangeeta Bijlani was spotted after long enjoying herself at the venue

The band's management also set up a makeshift stage towards the crowd in the Gold zone (start of the ramp) to make the show interactive. Chris sat on his piano stool with the Indian flag in front. The songs that followed were Everglow and Magic.

Chris jumped, sang and kept saying 'shukriya' in order to not lose the crowd. Hymn For The Weekend gaining chorus voices was a surprise, considering the criticism the song faced after release.

Katrina Kaif. Pics/Satej Shinde, Sameer Markande

Among the other top billed musicians at the concert was Jay Z, who played Empire State of Mind and Holy Grail. He did a set of 30 minutes whereas Demi Lovato made an appearance for barely 20 minutes. She played her hit song Cool For The Summer.

Towards the end of their set, Chris paid tribute to late David Bowie, playing a version of Heroes. They called it a night when AR Rahman joined Chris on stage for Vande Mataram.

On the sidelines of the music

> Legendary guitar player Amyt Datta was AR Rahman's guitarist for the day. Renowned drummer/percussionist Ranjit Barot took care of the rhythm section. The Mozart of Madras stunned everyone by singing Tu Hi Re, originally sung by Hariharan.

> It looked like The Vamps were playing on recorded tracks. The vocalist's lip didn't sync, thanks to the giant screen.

> Prime Minister Narendra Modi quoted Bob Dylan's Times They Are A Changin' to exemplify the participation of youth in serious affairs like education and issues of poverty.